These days I use Acoustica’s Mixcraft 5 for my Music Production work. It's fast, simple and frankly just allows me to get on with the job of making music. The days of pouring over forums to find the coolest tricks and tweaks for more complex software are over.
So now that I'm using Mixcraft exclusively I thought I would start sharing tips on how I make Dubstep and drum and bass, using the standard synths that come with Mixcraft 5.
Wobble Bass
The wobble bass is synonymous with Dubstep. From the subtle wobbles of Pinch, Kode9 and Skream to the murderously crazy sounds of Datsik and Excision if you're a bass head then Dubstep is where it is at.
There are a few ways to get a wobbling bass line in Mixcraft 5, using Impulse or even Messiah you can simply assign one of the synths internal LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) to modulate the Filter Cutoff to create the distinctive Dubstep wobble. I am going to show you a different way using the Alien 303 Bass Synth and the Classic Auto-Filter effect which is included in Mixcraft.
Dubstep Wobble Step 1
So now that I'm using Mixcraft exclusively I thought I would start sharing tips on how I make Dubstep and drum and bass, using the standard synths that come with Mixcraft 5.
Wobble Bass
The wobble bass is synonymous with Dubstep. From the subtle wobbles of Pinch, Kode9 and Skream to the murderously crazy sounds of Datsik and Excision if you're a bass head then Dubstep is where it is at.
There are a few ways to get a wobbling bass line in Mixcraft 5, using Impulse or even Messiah you can simply assign one of the synths internal LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) to modulate the Filter Cutoff to create the distinctive Dubstep wobble. I am going to show you a different way using the Alien 303 Bass Synth and the Classic Auto-Filter effect which is included in Mixcraft.
Dubstep Wobble Step 1
Load up Alien 303 and select preset that sounds decent, I've chosen the Liquid Darkness preset.
Play a few keys and hear that the bass sound is one that sustains for quite some time, this is perfect and will allow us to use to Classic to create the wobbling effect we require.
Dubstep Wobble Step 2
In the Effects section of the VST Instruments window, use the drop down box and select the Classic Auto-Filter.
By default the Auto-Filter will open with the Psychedelic Drops preset which is not what we want, so change the preset to *Your Sound Here, this will reset the filter to its default settings.
Dubstep Wobble Step 3
Click the edit button next to the preset name; this will load up the Auto-Filter so we can start sculpting the sound.
The first section we need to play with is the LFO. This will control the depth and the speed of our bass wobble. If you turn the Depth knob all the way to 100% you will hear that the bass sound has started to wobble.
Clicking the Sync button make the LFO modulate in more precise time division which we can alter by using the T.SIG values.
By default the T.SIG value is 2/1 if we change it to 1/8 we get a much more familiar and speedier wobble.
In the output section the MIX (%) control defines how much of the original signal you allow to come through the filter with the wobble, if you turn it to 100% you'll hear just the wobble without any part of the original sounds signal, if you turn it to 0% you'll hear the original signal which is basically bypassing the Auto-Filter effect.
There are a few other controls on the Auto-Filter but from what you should be able to hear; you have a wobbling bass.
Dubstep Wobble Step 4
Now whilst we have the beginnings of a wobble, there is much more to do before we can call it a true Dubstep bass. Layering and Automation is the key to really spicing up the bass sound, your goal should be to have a bassline that uses Automation to modulate the LFO Sync Rate (speed of the wobble). Try using one deep bass sound, and then layer on top of it another bass but pitched an octave up.
Mixcraft 5 gives you the ability to layer synths on top of each other, so why not do that and then add the Auto-Filter and start the wobbling game.
Conclusion
This is just one of the ways that you can create a wobbling bassline in Mixcraft 5. The method that I described above can be used for any kind of synth or sustained sound.
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